Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Sold by Congress Asset Management Co.

Congress Asset Management Co. lowered its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 0.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 345,135 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 1,157 shares during the period. Meta Platforms makes up approximately 1.5% of Congress Asset Management Co.’s portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest holding. Congress Asset Management Co.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $198,922,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth approximately $19,949,512,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 67,172.9% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 23,452,665 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $13,517,178,000 after buying an additional 23,417,803 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 78,471.1% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 6,248,763 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $3,658,713,000 after buying an additional 6,240,810 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,243,603,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 13.5% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 23,445,565 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $13,727,613,000 after buying an additional 2,787,832 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 1.9%

Shares of NASDAQ:META opened at $697.71 on Friday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52-week low of $442.65 and a 52-week high of $740.91. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $587.67 and a 200 day moving average of $614.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.75 trillion, a PE ratio of 29.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 2.98 and a current ratio of 2.98.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The social networking company reported $6.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.33 by $1.10. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 37.91% and a return on equity of 38.17%. The business had revenue of $42.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $41.45 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $4.71 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 16.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be given a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.30%. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is 8.19%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $610.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $725.00 to $750.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $725.00 to $600.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 7th. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $650.00 to $665.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Roth Capital lifted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $580.00 to $620.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, thirty-seven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $702.48.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In other news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 6,874 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $659.36, for a total transaction of $4,532,440.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 70,040 shares in the company, valued at approximately $46,181,574.40. This represents a 8.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 608 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $609.00, for a total transaction of $370,272.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 8,054 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,904,886. This represents a 7.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 56,171 shares of company stock worth $35,163,457 over the last three months. Company insiders own 13.61% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Company Profile

Meta Platforms, Inc engages in the development of products that enable people to connect and share with friends and family through mobile devices, personal computers, virtual reality headsets, and wearables worldwide. It operates in two segments, Family of Apps and Reality Labs. The Family of Apps segment offers Facebook, which enables people to share, discuss, discover, and connect with interests; Instagram, a community for sharing photos, videos, and private messages, as well as feed, stories, reels, video, live, and shops; Messenger, a messaging application for people to connect with friends, family, communities, and businesses across platforms and devices through text, audio, and video calls; and WhatsApp, a messaging application that is used by people and businesses to communicate and transact privately.